1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device for operating the landing gear on a trailer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for raising or lowering the landing gear, or legs, on a trailer prior to detachment from or after attachment to a tractor, without permanently altering the trailer.
2. Background Art
Currently, many semi-trailer truck trailers have landing gear which support the front of the trailer in the absence of a tractor during parking and storage of the trailer, and when changing trailers on the tractor. Most trailers have a set of landing gear with either pads or rollers mounted toward the front of the trailer.
Currently, many truck drivers or other users employ a manual crank system which requires the user to turn a large and unwieldy crank. Often the user turns the crank thirty (30) or more revolutions for each up or down placement of the landing gear. This is not, under normal circumstances, a difficult exercise, but it is time consuming and tiresome. Many manual landing gear systems use a two (2) speed gear mechanism which is operated by either pushing the crank handle in or pulling it out while cranking. The "fast" speed is slightly harder to turn, but takes fewer cranks than the "slow" speed which is easy to turn, but it must be turned many more revolutions than are indicated above to get results. Many semi-trailer operations require several trailer changes daily, which is particularly troublesome during inclement weather or after a long distance haul. The crank handle is loose fitting and when it is not in use, it is supposed to hang on a bracket on one of the landing gear. In many cases, the crank handle hangs loose and swings about as the semi-trailer truck is driven down the highway. Occasionally, a crank handle will fall off the trailer, creating a hazard to other motorists and an inconvenience to the truck driver who later discovers that it is missing and has no way to lower (or raise) the landing gear without locating another crank handle.
There have been several attempts in the past to develop a non-manual landing gear operating device, but these have required extensive physical changes to every trailer, and would have been prohibitively expensive for most trucking companies. Some trailers have hydraulic, air driven, or electric landing gear systems, which are costly.
The present invention provides semi-trailer truck owners and operators with a portable, inexpensive, efficient, and/or easy way to raise and lower the landing gear of trailers, with virtually no modifications to the trailer. The present device is a substantially hollow, cylindrical tool which can be mounted on one end to a reversible drive mechanism, and on the other end mates to a crank shaft which is connected to the landing gear of a trailer. The device allows the landing gear to be lowered and, when the drill is reversed, to be raised with a minimum of difficulty. The device enables a commonly available drill to be used instead of muscle-power, as in the case of a manual crank system, to quickly raise and lower the landing gear of a trailer. Thus, many trailer changes in a day are possible with minimal lost time and aggravation for the truck operator.